Duil Education
Duilintinn's education system involves a semi-mandatory period of public schooling until the age of 15, with further opportunities to pursue higher education as students see fit. Early Education Primary education is mandatory in Duilintinn, though this is only loosely enforced. There is no penalty for families who decide to homeschool their children or not send them to school at all. Instead, Duilintinn encourages school attendance by ensuring that each Noble House has the resources necessary to educate every child under their jurisdiction until the age of 15. In order to properly utilize these resources, the education systems of Duilintinn are technically managed by the governments of each Noble House, not the national government. However, there is also significant coordination between the authorities responsible for developing the educational programs of each Noble House. In a kingdom where house-switching is an expected and encouraged part of the culture, it would be the height of foolishness to not strive for a seamless transition between houses in every way possible. Therefore, those officials who are responsible for the educational systems within each house would most likely have a basic curriculum they have all agreed upon, which is then adapted to fit the needs of each individual house. Post-Education After the age of 15, the government of Duilintinn is no longer responsible for providing for a student's education. However, there are a number of opportunities available for students who wish to further their studies. While Duilintinn's government does not officially sponsor these opportunities, there are authorities within each Noble House specifically in charge of meeting with students who seek higher education and coordinating with authorities in other houses to find them places to live and work during this time. Apprenticeships The most common route for aspiring students is to move to the house that matches their chosen career path, find a mentor who is willing to teach or apprentice them, and then use the knowledge they gain under their tutelage to begin their own careers. Most of these apprenticeship opportunities would come from the local guilds, who work with the local government to find apprentices for their members as needed. Houseless Gap Year See Also: Houselessness Similar to an apprenticeship program, young people who aren't set on a specific career path might decide to take a year traveling across Duilintinn as a houseless individual. While most of those who voluntarily spend a year or two houseless are young people and immigrants, it’s not uncommon for adults in the wake of an identity crisis to spend some time houseless to explore their options. However, this is less common among adults with spouses or young families. Choosing a house has more to do with your personal comfort and sense of belonging within the social culture of the house than the occupational opportunities it provides. Therefore, there are many students who want to experience life in a few different Noble Houses (or all five) before settling down, even if they know exactly what they wish to study. This is especially common among students pursuing careers in magic, science, health, and invention, who often struggle to decide between pursuing their dreams within House Schneeplestein or House Marvin. To address this, there’s a program in place where these young scholars would spend time in both houses. First, they'd study within House Marvin, collecting information and doing research. After a few months, they'd travel to House Schneeplestein, compiling, sharing, and receiving feedback on their brief introductory study. Based on their experiences in both houses, young aspiring scholars and experimenters can decide what house fits them best. Those who are undecided can choose to pledge to both houses and travel back and forth. For those young citizens of Duilintinn who are fairly certain what they want to do and what house they want to pledge to, but still want to experience the environment and culture before they commit, there would be programs within a single house that kinda resemble modern internships. Here, they would do the job they wish to pursue on a slightly less intensive level, shadow and live with other members of the house, and be able to experience what life there would look like without the pressure of finding their niche or place there right away. Much like modern internships, those who decide to officially join the house after these houseless gap years will likely have an easier time finding opportunities to begin work within the house and settling into their new home. This makes these houseless gap years advantageous for everyone, even members of the kingdom who are already certain of their future house and career path. Some might even stay with The Watch for a short time (in one of the safer places, like a garrison or coastal outpost) to get a sense of what it looks like when all the houses are working together under the same roof. This would be especially beneficial for those who know they want to join The Watch at some point, kinda like an ROTC program. This is currently the part of the program that has been best adapted to aid houseless orphans and refugee children, though all acknowledge that placing vulnerable children in the middle of a war effort isn’t really the best solution. Apprentice vs Gap Year The main difference between an apprenticeship and a gap-year is the workload and personal freedom. Gap year students are free to jump around and try out whatever experiences they would like, while students undertaking their true higher education will have more responsibilities placed upon them and less freedom to change their course of study on a whim. While still possible, switching mentors, careers, or house of study altogether during this time is a bit of a hassle, and forces students to start over by seeking out a new mentor. Most students who aren’t sure what they wish to do are encouraged to take a gap year to flit from job to job and house to house, and only to settle into an apprenticeship or similar higher education program when they are fairly certain of what they wish to do. However, there are disadvantages to being houseless, even for a short period of time. Ultimately, the end goal for every member of the kingdom should be to find a house (or, occasionally, a combination of houses) to call home; being houseless long-term carries a number of crippling disadvantages that would disenfranchise and exclude citizens who spend their lives without a chosen house. Self-Teaching While many students will travel to further their education, one of the simplest options is to simply study from books and local tradesmen in one's local community. While this probably won’t earn you as much hands-on experience, it’s still a valid way to start your career. There aren’t any degrees or anything like that in Duilintinn; if you know your stuff, then you get the job. That’s it. Granted, a letter of recommendation from a previous mentor might be beneficial, but you could just as easily get such a letter from your local doctor as you could from a scholar of medicine within House Schneeplestein.